Mary Jo Wentz
Battle Lake, MN
Visual
Workshops, Demonstrate, Serve as a Juror, Teach, Consultant
Pursuing my interest in art after raising a family and retiring from teaching elementary school was a natural progression for me. Saturated color, expression with surprise, challenge with the need for structure and exercising that through mediums which fight control, alcohol inks, as well as fibers and cloth, requires the kind of focus which allows me to become totally immersed in creating.
My inspiration comes from nature, people and cultures, design whether natural or manmade. Expressing my ideas through painting or working with fiber with my inspirations as my catalysts has encouraged me to think beyond the expected. In particular, working with alcohol inks as well as fibers and fabrics seems appropriate when facing the challenge of translating my ideas and inspirations into art as they require the same intensity of concentration.
Art is a journey, a way of life that can impact and transform each moment. I find meaning in the process of creating and in sharing at exhibitions and workshops. I find beauty in all that surrounds me and seek to capture that beauty and the emotions evoked in my artwork. Through my artwork, I can share stories that touch the lives of others and provide common threads which link us.
In the upcoming year I will be working on a series of paintings centered around the geology of the earth in varying locales throughout the world. The beauty of the rock, the layers, striations, hues and colors have attracted me for decades and I find my medium of alcohol inks lends itself to this subject matter in a very apropos manner. When painting with the inks on Yupo, the inks take on a very organic appearance themselves, much as the geology is organic.
Additionally, this subject matter as well as the subject matter of the fibers that make up nature draw me to create fiber bowls and fiber art hangings from cloth and threads. I plan on continuing to pursue my creation of both fiber vessels and fiber art hangings to emulate the fibers of the earth through human-made art.
